Eyes of The Snake
by x.Kage Mane
Summary: It has been so many years, yet he still has the same goal...and with the fruition of that goal, so many things will come to pass. [Not what it sounds like]Eventual SasuSaku, other minor pairings.
1. Ideas

He put his glasses back on.

And found that he could see again, despite the excruciating, throbbing pain in the left side of his face, actually the left side of his entire body.

He supposed that there was a price to be paid for taking Orochimaru-sama's dead parts. And implanting them into himself.

But he hissed. It made him feel so strong, maybe even stronger than the curse seal would ever had made him, if Orochimaru-sama had ever decided to bestow it upon him.

But then, he felt so weak.

His head thudded as he hit the stone floor of the cave.

Everything sank into darkness…

…when he awoke….

He never awoke again.

Orochimaru reopened his eyes, surveyed the body he had been put into.

It was strong, and able. It came with good chakra control, the control of a medic. Not that he was ever going to heal anyone with the power.

Within him, something stirred. He was powerful again, as powerful as when he was at the peak of his power.

He would get that ungrateful bastard back for killing him. Killing him after he had taught him so much…

The snake contemplated the possibilities with slitted eyes, taking off those annoying glasses that Kabuto had used to hide his bloodrimmed eyes, and stowing him into the pockets. What would make him the most mad?

"Sasuke-kun…" he hissed, as the single candle in the dark cave flickered menacingly on the wall, the shadows detailing the blood dripped on the wall, the cave conveniently rebounding every tiny movement to his ears.

"Sasuke …." "Sasuke." "Sasuke-kun…" the voices changed…

The boy.

The man.

The girl.

He knew exactly what he was about to do. And it would be good. He would get his revenge.


	2. Time

He woke with a start.

All night, the one syllable had plagued him.

_Kun…Kun…Kun…_round and round his head, never diminishing. Never increasing.

It was so annoying.

Annoying. At that word, his mind flashed on her. That voice…he chuckled, but there was no noise.

Since when had he of all people ever cared about hearing voices?

In a dream, no less.

It wasn't like he didn't get nightmares every night. The red moon. _Foolish Little Brother. _The broken fan.

They didn't even bother him anymore. They were normal.

But this…this wasn't.

_What am I supposed to do about it?! _His mind screamed.

Nothing, that's what.

There was no way that he was going to give up on a life's dream to go chasing after the premonition of some girls voice.

_Not some girl. Sakura. Don't tell me that doesn't mean anything to you. _

He winced. _It doesn't._

_Right._

He heard steps on the stone floor, and sat up. Time to get going.

------

The snake giggled lightly.

_Hebi, is it? How touching, Sasuke-kun. _

Time to get going.

Orochimaru rose onto his feet. Or rather, Kabuto's feet.

Hehe. Going back to Konoha again, huh? Who would know that I would take revenge this far. Oh, I'll pay Sasuke-kun back. What will he think when he finds that all of his precious people dead?

_Oh yes, don't think I haven't heard you in your sleep, Sasuke-kun. Haruno Sakura, eh. Uzumaki Naruto, Hatake Kakashi. Only to be expected. _

----

It was early, but the summer sun had already risen for half an hour.

Uzumaki Naruto had already had his morning ramen.

Haruno Sakura was walking toward the hospital.

Kakashi was lost on the road of life.

Team Gai was training youthfully…or at least the green-clad members were. The leftovers were sparring as usual.

Team Kurenai was training sans-Jounin leader. Akamaru was working on territory marking.

Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino, and Akimichi Chouji were packing for a mission. Not too difficult, B-class. Nothing to worry about, not really. Which was why it would just be the three of them.

Tsunade was still passed out from too much sake, drooling onto her paperwork.

Shizune was sighing, and calling for the fifth copy of that same sheet of Chuunin Exam documentation.

It was all normal.

Normal as it could be with Hebi, Kabuto, and Akatsuki on the prowl.

Tsunade awoke. Time to get going…if she must.

-----

It wasn't a busy day at the hospital. Not at all. Not too many wounds, just a couple of genin coming in with cat scratches, from capturing Tora the cat yet _again._

Sakura smiled. One of their first missions.

Their.

Naruto. Sasuke. Sakura. Kakashi.

She winced. Sasuke. Sasuke-kun. Her hands unconsciously came up near her face, covered her eyes.

_Sasuke-kun. Sasuke-kun. Sasuke-kun._

The dream. The dream. The dream.

She was gone.

She was running, running in the fog. There was a clearing in the woods.

_She couldn't breathe. The sand constricted her. No! Naruto! Sasuke-kun…she couldn't let this happen. _

_Hadn't she promised herself that she had to be strong? She couldn't just pass out, not here. But the sand, it was crushing her ribs. And she could tell, she was drifting. _

_And before it faded to black…her last thought…._

_Sasuke-kun…_

----

Juugo had gotten some information off the birds, a lead apparently about a main with red, red eyes.

Of course, the birds' sense of vision could be pretty bad, but he would take that risk.

And the lead...It brought them to Fire Country. Nowhere near Konoha. But Itachi could be expected to try to capture the dobe again. And where Naruto is…

Sakura is. Probably.

Hn.

And You said you didn't care.

Too much stuff was happening oddly lately. Something big was about to happen. Uchiha Sasuke could see it in his red, red sharingan eyes.

Too bad he couldn't predict its movement.

AN: Thank you so much to everyone who is reading this. I'd love a review.


	3. Shock

Tsunade had an all-too-familiar splitting headache.

"The medicine…" she croaked, noting that the sun was already high overhead, glittering through the broken glass.

_Ugh, did I throw a chair again? _

"Tsunade-sama, here is the medicine, and this is another copy of that Chuunin Exam sheet. I want all of this paperwork done by 2 o'clock, or else I will confiscate all of your sake. And I do know about that secret stash in your second drawer."

_Damn. _

"What time is it now?"

"12:30, Tsunade-sama. Oh, and by the way, Sakura wanted to see you today."

"Alright, call her in whenever she arrives."

"Don't forget the paperwork."

"Yes, Yes. "

_Right._

She heard the door shut as she stared blankly down at the endless-seeming realms of paperwork. The Chuunin Exams were going to be held in Konoha _yet _again. Apparently Sunagakure had gotten complaints from water-element users. Not enough water or something.

Then she heard the door open. She didn't look up, knowing exactly who it was.

"What is it, Shizune? And if it's more paperwork I _will _make you do it all."

"It's me, Tsunade-sama."

"Oh, Sakura. Is there a problem at the hospital?"

"No."

Silence.

"I need a mission."

"Sakura, we need you. Is there a specific reason that you would like to go on a mission?"

The girl stared down at the ground, her gloved hands fiddling behind her back.

_It's about Uchiha again. _

"Is this about Uchiha Sasuke?"

Silence.

_Yes. _

"I can offer you a mission in the Wave Country. It should take about two weeks."

The girl flinched, her forehead crumpling. Her nails dug into her palm, leaving deep crescents.

"Is there anything…longer term?"

_She needs to get away from the memories._

"Alright. Fine. I'm sending you on a diplomatic mission to Sunagakure. It will last until the end of the Chuunin exams, in four months. It is ranked A-class, so handle it with care. Here is the mission report. I expect that you will be back safely. Leave as soon as possible."

"Thank You, Tsunade-sama."

"Please leave now. I have 58 minutes to finish a mountain of paperwork."

_Four months. Four months. Four months. Four months away from here…_

The girl left. The door closed.

-----

"Jiraiya, I know you're there. Come in or go away."

"Hehe, quick as usual, Tsunade-hime." The hermit perched on the windowsill, and Tsunade swiveled around to look at him.

"Is there something you need to say?"

"Yes, well, I was collecting data---"

"---Right. Cut to the chase." Tsunade snorted. _As if._

The sannin's voice suddenly turned serious. "I have information that the members of Team Kakashi may be in serious danger. Including Kakashi."

"From who?"

"My source says Yakushi Kabuto."

"Well, Naruto and Sakura being in danger is not exactly a surprise. Kakashi is a highly ranked Jounin. I'm sure that they can handle it."

"Not with Akatsuki at the same time, they can't. Since Uchiha Itachi is coming after Naruto, and Uchiha Sasuke is going after Uchiha Itachi, this entire scenario has the makings of three-way battle. There is no way that Naruto would not take the opening and try to drag Sasuke back here."

"There's something that you are not telling me. This sounds too everyday for you to be using your urgent voice."

"My source says…that it is possible that Orochimaru has completely taken over Yakushi Kabuto's body."

Tsunade cursed. "That bastard…"

"This means that we need to get Sakura and Naruto in hiding at once. Kakashi should be able to fend on his own for a while, but he'll need to be dealt with too if things get too serious. But they can't be told what's happening. Or else they would do whatever it takes to get Uchiha back."

"You're telling me to try to keep my insanely intelligent apprentice oblivious? The lie wouldn't last an hour."

"It's the best we can do. Call in Nara and ask him to think of the most plausible lie."

"He's on a mission with Yamanaka and Akimichi."

"How important is it?"

"B-rank."

"Get Team Kurenai out there and retrieve them. This is of the utmost importance right now."

Tsunade's head sank to the desk. "It's time for the Chuunin Exams again…this is just so familiar."

"There is definitely the possibility that Kabuto or Orochimaru would not just stop at the demise of Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi, Tsunade."

"The village…"

"Yes."

"Shizune!"

"Hai, Tsunade-sama."

"Call Team Kurenai in here right now."

"Including Kurenai-san?"

"No."

The door closed.

----

"Hyuuga Hinata. Inuzuka Kiba. Aburame Shino. Your mission is to reclaim Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Chouji. They are currently in Waterfall. I expect you to be back with them within two days. Your mission will start today at sunset, so get some rest. Aburame Shino, you will be captain for this mission. Travel carefully, as members of Akatsuki may be on the border between Fire and Waterfall. Dismissed."

The door closed.

"Jiraiya."

"Hmm."

"I just sent Sakura on a four month mission in Suna."

A groan was audible. "You think the Kazekage and Sunagakure will be able to defend her?"

"If they come under any significant attack by any of our enemies, our relationship may be strained."

"Best to let Gaara know of the danger and let him make a decision. And what do you plan to do with Naruto?"

"Send him off to some remote corner of Fire with an escort?"

"He would suspect something right away."

"Didn't we agree on letting Nara make up the lie?"

"Right."

And so it was 2 o'clock. So much had changed in just an hour.

Tsunade sighed.

It cycles over and over.

AN: Hey everybody. Thanks so much for the reviews. Please review.

Beware that I'm only updating at this rate because I'm very excited by this story at this point. Most likely the updates will be coming slower. 10 revieews until the next chapter, please.

Love from Yaniii


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